Lingering on: Johnson’s ankle injury tests wide receiver

Huskies sophomore receiver James Johnson, shown here making a reception against in Oregon in 2009, has played only a handful of downs in 2010 due to ankle injury. (Getty Images/Otto Greule Jr)

When James Johnson entered fall camp in 2010, he carried with him a noticeable new physique and the possibility of a breakout sophomore season a la Jermaine Kearse and Devin Aguilar in 2009.

But on the first day of two-a-days, Johnson heard a pop in his ankle during a red-zone blocking drill.

“We were doing goal line that day, so I’m blocking, I have to dig down with the safety in the goal line, I’m tight to the formation and a lineman ended up falling on my leg,” Johnson said of the injury. “My knee went, but my ankle stayed, so my ankle just popped and it messed up all the ligaments and everything down there.”

At first, Johnson thought his ankle was broken. But after getting X-rays done the next day, he discovered that what he was dealing with was in fact a high-ankle sprain. With opening day still three weeks away, the coaching staff thought Johnson would be ready.

But then the bad news started coming. Johnson continued to practice in a limited capacity, but the injury kept lingering. He sat against BYU and the Nebraska game as his ankle did not improve. Nearly six weeks later, Johnson is still not up to game speed and saw his only action of the season in garbage time of the Syracuse blowout, when coaches knew they would not have to ask him to do too much.

“We were up a bunch, so (the coaches) wanted to see me just get out there and run around a little bit,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been able to run at full speed for weeks, but has not been able to rebuild enough strength to cut in and out of breaks.

“I can run straight forward as fast as ever, but it’s just really getting in an out of breaks (that’s difficult),” Johnson said.

The loss of Johnson has done more than just rob Steve Sarkisian of his third-leading receiver from 2009. Johnson, who had 39 receptions last year, is viewed as the most physical pass catcher on the team and his 6-foot, 201 pound frame presents a different matchup problem than UW’s other options for the third receiver spot. While Cody Bruns has played very well filling in for Johnson, at nearly 25 pounds lighter, he lacks the size that is so valuable on the come-back routes Johnson thrives on.

The injury is the longest that Johnson has ever had to deal with. In 2009, he suffered from turf toe, but, while painful, the injury did not limit his mobility.

“I had turf toe last year and that was killer,” Johnson said. “That actually hurt, that hurt really bad and I was able to play through it. This is a little different because, this is my ankle, everything I do is using my ankle. Turf toe was something that I could push off and not have to worry about it getting worse, but this is something that would get worse if I keep going on it.”

While Johnson has surely been frustrated physically by the injury, Sarkisian spoke last week about the mental effect a lingering issue on a young player can have.

“It challenges him mentally, not only physically” Sarkisian said. “The mental toughness aspect of fighting through injury, of battling, of continuing to work at it is challenging. When you can overcome it, it makes you even stronger for the next time an injury might occur.”

Johnson talked about how the injury had affected him mentally after practice on Tuesday and said the hardest part has been having to watch his teammates go to battle while he sits on the sideline.

“I’m sitting out there and I’m watching and I know what I can bring to the team and I just can’t do anything,” Johnson said. “It really sucks. It hurts my heart as a competitor and as a teammate, to see my guys out there battling and knowing that I can’t do anything to help them.”

Johnson said he is still not 100 percent, but said is somewhere around 90 and hopes to be back on the field against USC in two weeks.

“Things are getting better and I think with this bye week and just practice and continuously strengthening my angle, I should be in a pretty good condition to go at USC,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Sarkisian both know that nothing is set in stone. But if Johnson can return against the Trojans, brighter days could be coming for the Huskies.